Book Review of Stalking Shakespeare by Lee Durkee
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book stats:
320 pages, to be published April 18, 2023 - I received an advanced copy via NetGalley
you may enjoy this book if you like:
Shakespeare * Elizabethan History * Memoirs
travel inspiration:
This memoir follows the author to Vermont and Mississippi but at its heart, can it be about anything other than England? Everything about this novel brought back high school English class (in a good way).
about the author: Lee Durkee
Lee Durkee was born and raised in Mississippi and resides there again after stints in other states. His 18 years in Vermont form the backbone of his latest memoir Stalking Shakespeare. In addition to essays and stories for the likes of Harper’s Magazine, Durkee has previously written two novels: Rides of the Midway (2000) and The Last Taxi Driver (2020).
review of stalking shakespeare: A memoir of murder, madness, and my search for the poet beneath the paint by Lee durkee
Vermont, in the winter, is cold and depressing.
Especially for a man from Mississippi who moved there to follow his ex-wife for the sake of staying close to his son.
Eighteen years are a long time to live somewhere you don’t want to, and it is clear that this took a toll on Durkee, who explores this phase of his life with what can perhaps best be described as the gallows humor of a man hovering on the edge of desperation. The premise upon which the memoir is built: Does anyone know what William Shakespeare actually looked like?
While shacked up against the biting winter, Durkee headed down the rabbit hole of William Shakespeare’s visage. Armed with access to images of Shakespearean paintings online, Durkee began a maddening effort to uncover whether any of them were actually painted from a live subject during Shakespeare’s life. He became a persona non grata with more than one museum employee as he contacted the facilities that held many of the supposed Shakespearean paintings and inquired about x-ray technology to glean more than was simply visible on the canvas. For anyone who has been to an art museum in a major city in the past decade, you have probably seen information about how modern technology is helping to better date and understand historic works of art. One fascinating facet of Durkee’s exploration is how reticent so many museums were to invest energy in exploring the Shakespeare portraits. It goes to figure: If people believe the painting is of Shakespeare, they have nothing to gain by proving it so but a lot to lose by discrediting it.
The last time I entertained the question of Shakespeare the man (or woman or group, which is always a side intrigue) was probably in high school when we were reading Shakespeare’s plays. What I didn’t realize is how much debate still surrounds this topic and how there is less contemporary proof of Shakespeare than one might think, given his modern notoriety. Durkee explores - first and foremost - whether there is a proven portrait of Shakespeare painted from life but also considers the data about the man himself to a lesser extent.
Dating a painting - when the date is in question - is an interesting endeavor. For example, some portraits that were supposedly painted of Shakespeare during his lifetime had him wearing attire that was only popular decades before or decades after.
Durkee’s memoir is about more than Shakespeare, though Shakespeare features predominantly. The sub-plot is Durkee trying to figure out his personal life - uprooting himself to a place he never belonged, returning home to Mississippi, and seeking a significant other. Interesting personalities swooped in and out - like Durkee’s friendship with the Faulkner family (as in the other William).
The memoir seemed to be a mash-up of my own high school / college thought process - the truth behind life’s great mysteries and meaning in the form of Shakespeare - and a Chuck Klosterman tale. The dysfunction, speed, and mystery of the memoir are both frenetic and timeless.
As for a resolution? The outcome will be exactly what you expect but will not be a disappointment. This memoir is about the journey.
Funny enough, shortly after finishing this book, I saw an article in The Guardian, “Shakespeare portrait said to be the only one made in his lifetime on sale for £10m.” And the beat - er, the meter? - goes on.
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